Product Description

As of 2004 nearly three million self-employed women worked at home, and women continue to start home-based businesses at twice the rate of men. Many of these women left the workplace by choice in order to stay home and raise their children. And though their numbers increase each day, resources for this growing market of entrepreneurs are scarce. Making Work at Home Work shows moms how to develop an entrepreneurial mind-set without sacrificing their families. It covers important topics such as developing a successful business philosophy, balancing time between work and family, setting realistic goals, and handling the challenges of being both "Mommy" and "CEO" while running a profitable home-based business. In addition to including her own experiences, author Mary Byers profiles real moms with home-based businesses who offer their hard-won advice.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #678309 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780800732752
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From the Back Cover
"Mary Byers motivates us to fully embrace how we can manage excellent mothering and effective work at home."--Elisa Morgan, CEO, MOPS International If you're struggling to balance your home business and your family, you're not alone. Mary Byers has been where you are and shows that it can be done! She will challenge you to face important questions, such as: How do I fit my business into my family life? How much income is enough? What are my priorities? She'll also teach you how to •schedule your time effectively •manage your business expenses •know when and how to take a break •avoid strain on your relationships •arrange effective child care when needed •plan for the future and retirement •work smarter and make more Whether you're a small business owner or work in direct sales, home business success is a reality! Keep your professional and personal lives in harmony with Making Work at Home Work. "By following the guidelines in this book, I've reduced my workload from 40 to 30 hours a week while increasing my net income by nearly 30 percent! I'm less stressed and able to take better care of myself physically. Mary has helped me take back power."--Sharon Hewitt, owner, sharonIDesign Mary M. Byers successfully juggles both a freelance corporate writing and speaking business and her responsibilities as a wife and mother of two school-aged children. She is the author of The Mother Load: How to Meet Your Own Needs While Caring for Your Family and How to Say No . . . And Live to Tell about It.

About the Author
Mary M. Byers successfully juggles both a freelance corporate writing and speaking business and her responsibilities as a wife and mother of two school-aged children. She is the author of The Mother Load: How to Meet Your Own Needs While Caring for Your Family and How to Say No . . . And Live to Tell about It. She is also a columnist for two professional trade journals and edits two others. Byers lives in Chatham, Illinois.

Customer Reviews

Work at home or home at work?
As a blogger, I do all of my work from home. Or, at least I TRY to. But making time for work amidst the mothering and wife-ing I do can make me crazy. That's why I was so excited about Mary's book!

"Making Work at Home Work" sounds like a no brainer...until you've tried to do it. My husband recently retired from his government job to pastor full-time, and he's found it to be a struggle as well.

Mary gives sound and wise counsel in her book that is easy to follow. Part One discusses how to save your sanity, with chapters on being honest with yourself and a lot of self-examination. I found this especially helpful as I tend to allow my family life to blur with my working life...

...because I don't set boundaries and I don't treat my work as work...

Part Two is filled with wisdom on Preserving Your Profit. If you're running your own business or offering a service from your home, this section is a MUST READ. Mary has truly done her homework, and she graciously shares her insight and counsel in easy to understand and read chapters.

I also loved the work-at-home mom profiles, especially Amy Peterson's---and NOT because we share the last name! By adding real life examples, Mary just gives her book more credibility. Not that she needs more with me!

"Making Work at Home Work" isn't just informative, it's enjoyable reading. That makes it worth a five out of five bookmark rating from me, with a tiny filing cabinet as a charm. Don't file this book away...read it!

working at home is hard!
I really enjoyed her writing and insight she had given so I thought this book, Making Work at Home Work : Successfully Growing a Business and a Family Under One Roof would be a great chance to see what other insights Mary has to share with us! I like that she writes on a basic level that appeals to me - it's as if we're having coffee and we're discussing it together!

Mary picks a great topic with this book and it's something that I've tried and failed at or struggle with now to do, or give up and try again -- which is of course to work for pay at home, while raising my children. Let's see what have I tried... I've done Avon, I've done books, health products, and of course my never ending attempt at peddling my art! Of course there is that freelance graphics stuff I do.. hmmm add the computer stuff on there.. and I've probably missed a few things, but you get the picture. I've had a hard time just "being" home with the kids (and I say that with no disrespect because I know being at home with the children and doing it successfully is one of, if not the hardest job on the face of this earth and I don't know why I torment myself with trying to throw on another project!)

The book is broken into two sections; Section 1: Saving Your Sanity and Section 2: Preserving Your Profit. Each section highlights different women and her insight to what she's learned through it all.

Mary includes a lot of research and has personally worked through a lot of the issues herself, which provides her with some great insight to the challenges and issues working at home mothers face. I appreciate Mary's insight and honesty while addressing the subjects. She admits that finding balance was "sorely lacking" in the beginning, which really gives me hope! I'm not the only one!

I really appreciate the first chapter quote:
"...when you think of yourself as an at-home CEO, you're more likely to manage your business like one. You'll control it rather than letting it control you."

I know several ladies (myself included) who have let their work get out of hand because they used some of the points that Mary brings out her book... thinking we're not worth the credit, oh it's just "extra", or I just enjoy the work.

If we're going to run a business we need to act and think like we own it because we do!

In chapter two Mary hits the heart of the problem (for me anyhow!) - Why are you working? Some of the reasons people said were:

* mental stimulation, income, extras, wanting a break, feeling pressure, enjoy meeting others...

It was really interesting to see that list because I see a lot of reasons why I want to work in that list and never really vocalized it before. It sure helps to understand why you want to work!

I could go into a lot more detail because this book is full of useful information, but all in all, I think this book is an essential tool for anyone who plans to work at home and make it work. It will give you a lot of tools and advice that you're not going to find in regular business guides or even business school (university doesn't cover this, unless it's changed since I went!)

What I love is that Mary in all her wisdom, even included a "quick and easy dinner recipes for work-at home moms" in the appendix. I have to laugh because only a mom whose "been there" knows how much we need this!

A solid and necessary manual for the person who has merged home and workplace
Working at home is the ultimate dream, but is it really a reality? "Making Work at Home Work: Successfully Growing A Business and a Family Under One Roof" is a guide to working at home, and how to make sure one gets work done instead of slacking off. Schedules, expenses, and the future are all things that still must be considered; "Making Work at Home Work" is a solid and necessary manual for the person who has merged home and workplace.